THE LATE ARRIVING FRAGMENT: REALITY BITES
 by Randy Robertson, M. D. *

The Fourth Decade Volume 2, Number 5, July 1995, pages 25-29

 During the assassination of President Kennedy a large fragment of skull was removed which was later presented to the autopsy team during the later stages of the autopsy where it was determined to represent a portion of an exit wound. By evaluating the films of the assassination as well as the radiographs and eyewitness descriptions of this piece of skull, it can be shown that it originated from the top rear of the skull and was displaced by a second gunshot wound to the head.
  The backward head snap, following an initial forward movement, seen on the Zapruder and Nix films, has long been cited as evidence for a second gunshot wound to the head originating from the right front of the motorcade. Incident
to this backward motion, these films show the expulsion of a
large bone fragment onto the trunk of the limousine, affirming
eyewitness observations of Charles Brehm and Clint Hill.
These films further show that Jacqueline Kennedy recovered
this fragment and brought it back into the limousine. The
limousine then proceeded to Parkland Hospital where it was
secured and transported to Love Field where it was loaded
aboard a C130 transport plane and returned to Andrews Air
Force Base where it arrived at 8 p.m. Roy Kellerman, having
previously arrived at AAFB aboard Air Force 1, instructed
Chief Rowley that the limousine should be gone over for any
possible evidence that it might contain. After landing 
the limousine was taken under escort to the White House
garage. arriving at 9 p.m. At 10:10 p.m., representatives from
Dr. Burkley's office, William Martinez and Thomas Mills,
accompanied by Deputy Chief Paterni and SAIC Boring,
arrived at the White House garage, inspected the vehicle and
retrieved three bone fragments. [1] These were then taken to
Bethesda Naval Medical Centerwhere the autopsy was still in
progress. immediately following this, three 10 X 12 inch
radiographs ot these skull fragments were taken. Having
previously typed a receipt for the eight 14 X 17 inch body
radiographs and three 10 X 12 inch skull radiographs taken
before these fragments arrived, Dr. John Ebersole hand cor-
rected this receipt, changing the number of 10 X 12 inch X
rays from three to six, reflecting the additional three radio
graphs of these three late arriving fragments taken after the
receipt had originally been typed. The report by FBI agents
Sibert and O'Neill failed to reflect this change, as it indicated
only the 11 X-rays noted in the original typewritten receipt.
The autopsy report and the Sibert and O'Neill report made
from notes made during the autopsy indicate that the largest
fragment measured 10 X 6.z cm and that the radiographs
revealed small metallic particles imbedded in one corner.
This same corner exhibited external beveling upon visual
inspection. These findings indicated that this largest skull
fragment contained a portion of an exit wound for a bullet. On
11/29/63, FBI agents Sibert and O'Neill interviewed SAIC of
the White House Detail Gerald Behn who confirmed that this
large skull fragment had been retrieved from the back seat of
the limousine. The final disposition of this and other skull
fragments is not known, although records show that the
Harper fragment, which was recovered later, was forwarded
                                    26
to Dr. Burkley after inspection by the FBI. [2]
  The arrival of this large late arriving fragment was a significant development during the autopsy. When testifying before the WC, Drs. Humes and Finck stated that, prior to the arrival of this bone fragment, an examination of the margins of the large defect in the skull failed to reveal a specific point where a bullet might have exited the skull. [3] They curiously did not avail themselves of the considerable assistance the skull radiographs should have provided them in this regard. Instead, they told the Commission members about dual fragment trajectories and the major portion of the bullet exiting somewhere in the middle of the large defect. It was after the large fragment's arrival that they came to the profound conclusion that the large fragment represented a portion of the exit defect somewhere in the intentionally vague right parietotemporooccipital area. Both stated that they were unable to locate precisely this bone in the large defect. [4] Until the autopsy photographs and radiographs became available, these contentions could not be challenged. Autopsy photograph #44 clearly shows half of an exit defect exhibiting external beveling in the right frontal bone, which must have been even more obvious to the autopsy team upon direct inspection the night of the autopsy. Logic dictates that, since the radiographs revealed two metal fragments which were recovered in the right frontal area and the late arriving fragment had metal particles imbedded in one corner, that this should have presented little challenge to conclude that this corner should have been situated in the front of the skull. Further, this is the only logical point for the exit of a high velocity bullet which entered from behind. One must question why the autopsy doctors committed perjury before the WC by denying that this defect existed and their inexplicable inability to deduce the correct orientation of the large late arriving fragment, given the many clues which should have guided them to its correct orientation and location. The answer to these questions was provided to author Josiah Thompson by Dr. Boswell in an interview that occurred one week prior to the January 1967 DOJ review.
  While being interviewed by Josiah Thompson for Six Seconds in Dallas, Dr. Boswell revealed that the autopsy team had been able to locate the large late arriving fragment the night of the autopsy. Logic dictates that this should have been, and by Dr. Boswell's accounts was, accomplished. Dr. Boswell revealed to Thompson that this large late arriving fragment could be oriented because one of its edges matched an edgeon the intact skull so that it fit at the very crown of the Prssident's head on the midline. [5] These very specific assertions are supported by the radiographs of this fragment which show a portion of a suture present on one edge. Given Dr. Boswell's assertions, this portion of suture on the late arriving fragment would represent a segment of the midline sagittal suture. The skull radiographs show that the corresponding segment of the sagittal suture is missing in this area near the rear of the skull. In this position, the corner which contains a portion of an exit wound would be oriented to the rearof the skull at the crown of the head, just as Thompson had been told by Dr. Boswell. Dr. Boswell's candid statement, completely supported by the radiographs and films of the assassination, exposed part of their perjury before the WC about not being able to orient this fragment and its correct orientation. The autopsy photos reveal the other part of their lies in this regard. In further previous testimony before the WC, they contended that there was no evidence of where a bullet might have exited in the margins of the large defect in the skull. It has been the consensus of experts and other observers, including myself, that autopsy photo #44 clearly demonstrates external beveling and represents a portion of a frontal exit wound. In the 1966 Inventory the autopsy doctors realized that this photo documented what they said under oath had been nonexistent the night of the autopsy. In an effort to hide their previous perjury, they intentionally misidentified this photo, which depicts external beveling, as depicting a portion of an entrance wound in the rear of the skull. [6] This has caused considerable confusion among critics, who would like to believe that this particular misidentified photo represents a portion of an externally beveled exit wound in the rear of the skull. In fact, the photo's correct orientation and interpretation provides much more damning evidence as we will see The DOJ, in drafting the 1967 review for the autopsy doctors to sign, included in the statement the apparently logical conclusion that the late arriving fragment, having one half of a single exit hole, would fit in the front of the skull where the other half of an exit hole was depicted in the autopsy photographs. The autopsy doctors could not object to this logic, for to do so would indicate two separate exit wounds and evidence for conspiracy. We can now understand the original reasons for their perjury. The night or the autopsy they knew that the correct orientation of the large late arriving fragment's exit portion was towards the rear of the head. Boswell's candid revelation to Thompson. completely supported by the radiographs and films of the assassination proves this. In order not to reveal the presence of an exit wound in the rear of the skull, they denied the existence of a portion of another exit defect in the front of the skull which should have led them to its correct position. This allowed them to be intentionally vague as to where exactly this late arriving fragment fit. By signing the 1967 review, which included an accurate description of this frontal exit wound in the autopsy photos, the autopsy doctors confirmed their own perjury.
  A critical evaluation of testimony and interviews of other eyewitnesses from both the WC and recently released documents from the HSCA investigation reveals others who bear witness to the fact that the late arriving fragment comprised a portionofanexitwoundintherearoftheskull. ClintHill'sand Charles Brehm's statements about seeing a large bone fragment coming off the rear of the skull have previously been mentioned. Roy Kellerman, in his WC testimony, discussed the large piece of bone removed from the skull during the assassination and recovered from the limo in a way consistent with Boswell's. Kellerman said that the buller which entered from behind made a small hole of entry in the rear of the skull which was located in intact bone 2 inches below from where the large piece of bone had been removed. Kellerman went on further to tell the WC members present that he could not conceive of how a bullet had accomplished this trajectory and we should share his skepticism of the ability of a single bullet to both enter and exit the back of the head. [7] Dr. John Ebersole told HSCA investigators that a large portion ot occipital bone was brought into the autopsy room late and X-rayed. [8] Certainly this large fragment of skull described by Dr. Ebersole must be the same fragment so accurately identified by Dr. Boswell. The existing skull X-rays show the occipital bone proper to be fractured but intact, but Dr. Ebersole's statement confirms the testimony of others that this skull fragment originated from the top rear of the skull or right occipital area. FBI agent Sibert told these same investigators that the wound was in the upper back of the head and that the missing section of bone arrived later. [91 Almost all of the eyewitness accounts both at Parkland and Bethesda are Our an exit wound being present in the top rear of the skull.
  Strong corroborative photographic evidence ot a separate exit wound being present in the top rear of the skull is present in the Zapruder and Nix films. At frame 313 of the Zapruder film. we see several smaller fragments of bone being ejected from the front Or the skull in several different directions. By virtue of its size, the 10 X 6.5 cm late arriving fragment, which contained a portion of an exit wound, was the largest skull fragment to have been displaced from the President's head. Had this large, late arriving fragment actually comprised a portion of the exit wound in the front of the skull, we should see only one large fragment of bone being ejected from this area on frame 313. Autopsy photo #44 shows that there was no bone loss forward of this frontal exit hole. Instead, we see several separate fragments being exploded from the front of theskull in the immediate vicinity of the exit hole documented in this photo. Given that there is no bone loss forward of this half of an exit hole in this photo, it would be most likely that the skull fragment seen ejected almost straight forward on frame 313 would be the one which arose immediately adjacent to this exit hole. Furthermore. it is virtually impossible for any of the tragments seen ejected so far from the limousine on frame 313 to meet the requirement of falling back into the limousine to be recovered there later, as the late arriving fragment was. Thus by virtue of the fact that frame 313 shows several smaller fragments of bone being ejected from a focus immediately adjacent to the frontal exit hole at speeds, distances, and directions making it virtually impossible for them to have been recovered from the limousine, it is a simple matter of elimination that the largest skull fragment ejected from the skull arose from the back of the skull. The Harper fragment, based upon its relative size and site of recovery, is rnost likely the skull fragment which is ejected in the higher trajectory on frame 313. The smaller skull fragment that is seen ejected straight forward ofthe limousine is most likelythe one recovered near the south curb of the parkway by Seymour Weitzman and eventually forwarded to Dr. Burkley. [10] Beyond this, both the Zapruder and Nix films provide direct evidence of the ejection of a large skull fragment from the top rear of the head incident to the backward head snap at a time removed several frames later than the explosive initial exit wound in the front of the skull. This piece of skull was seen by Charles Brehm and Clint Hill, and the films show Jacqueline Kennedy retrieved this fragment and brought it back into the limousine where it was later recovered, as was confirmed by Gerald Behn.
  The fact that the late arriving fragment was returned to the passenger compartment of the limousine precludes it from being the Harper fragment. Additionally, neither the Nix or Zapruder films Drovide evidence for any skull fragments having been ejected from the back of the head further than the trunk of the limousine. These films document several bone fragments being ejected from the front of the skull at speeds and distances away from the vehicle which could carry one of them to the grassy area south of Elm Street, where the Harper fragment was recovered that day after the assassination. Finally, the presence of intact occipital bone on the postmortem skull X-rays eliminates the possibility that the Harper fragment is occipital bone. The Zapruder and Nix films support these radiographic findings, as they do not demon strate skull fragments being ejected distances far from the back of the head; but they do show several smaller fragments arising from the more anterior portions of the head which are propel led far away from the limousine. By comparing the films of the skull fragments as they are exploded from the head with where each fragment was recovered, it is easy to dispel the long held misconception of many critics, fueled by the misidentification by Drs. Harper and Cairns, that the Harper fragment represented occipital bone. By actually proving that this is not the case, it translates into much stronger support for the correct conclusion that the large late arriving fragment formed part of a second exit wound in the top rear of the skull.   The Zapruder and Nix films show that the large exit fragment arose from the back of the head. These films also show that it is impossible for the late arriving fragment to have been one of the several fragments which arose from the front of the skull, and that none of these could have been recovered in the limousine after the assassination. Almost all the eyewitnesses have said that there was an exit in the top rear of the head. Several eyewitnesses have more specifically said that the large late arriving fragment, which contained a portion of an exit wound, could be oriented in the large defect so that it fit in the upper rearof the skull. The postmortem radiographs showthat bone is missing in this exact same area and that there are lead fragments in this location that can not be related to the bullet wh ich entered several cm below. The radiographs of the large fragment show it has propernies that only allow it to fit in the top rearof theskull and preclude it from fitting adjacent to the exit detect in the front of the skull. All of this is mutually self supportive and proves that a second bullet struck the rear of the skull, driving the President backwards after the fatal wounds.
  None of the photographic, radiographic or film evidence extending from Dealey Plaza to Bethesda Naval Medical Center supports the contention of Drs. Harper and Cairns that the Harper fragment is occipital bone. In contrast, all of this same objective evidence points to the correct conclusion that the Harper fragment was exploded from the more forward portion of the skull to be recovered some 25 feet south of the assassination site.
  If a conspiracy actually existed to alter all of the objective evidence in this case to hide an exit wound in the top rear of the skull, it has failed miserably. One must question and ultimately reject the notion that wholesale tampering with the evidence has occurred. Almost always, when a discrepancy exists between eyewitness observations and the objective evidence, in the medical area of this case, it is either the result of a simple error in the eyewitness observation and the conclusions derived therefrom or as a result of a deliberate attempt by individuals to distort or ignore evidence for the benefit of a conclusion favorable to their own viewpoint. I would cite the demonstrable perjury of Drs. Humes, Boswell and Finck before the Warren Commission in an effort to deny that an exit wound was present in the top rear of the head as a prime example. Is the persistent belief that the Harper fragment is occipital bone and represents a portion of an exit low in the rear of the head another?

Copyright 1995 Randolph H. Robertson 
Notes

1. NARA RG233 HSCA Rec. #180-10099-10390 Agency File #002528. 
2. NARA RG233 HSCA Rec. #7310080 Agency File #004864.
3. 7H383, 7H353. 
4. 7H371, 7H383.
5. Six Seconds in Dallas, Josiah Thompson 1967, p. 142. 
6. Report of Inspection by Naval Medical Staff on November
1,1966 at National Archives of X-rays and Photographs
of Autopsy of President John F. Kennedy, p. 8.
7. 7H81, 85.
8. NARA RG233 HSCA Rec. #180-10102-10409 Agency File #013617, p. 3.
9. NARA RG233 HSCA Rec. #180-10105-10164 Agency File #002191, p. 3.
10. 7H107, NARA RG233 HSCA Rec #180-l0087-10092 Agency File #000640.

* Randy Robertson, M.D.
Southern Hills Medical Center
Dept. of Radiology
391 Wallace Rd.
Nashville, TN 37211